New Survey Says 1 in 5 Hoosier Children Are Living in Poverty

In the wake of hard economic times for Hoosiers, a new survey has emerged revealing that one out of five Indiana children is living in poverty - What’s more is that figure is up nearly 30 percent since 2005.

According to the latest Kids Count survey conducted by the Casey Foundation, Indiana ranks 31st in the nation for taking care of the overall well-being of its children, with more than 22 percent of Hoosier children being raised at the poverty level since 2010 – up from 17 percent in 2005.

The Casey Foundation collects data from all 50 states and researches how well children are progressing based on factors including economic well-being, family and community, education, and health.

Indiana along with its neighboring state Kentucky ranks at the bottom 20 states for overall well-being – However, Kentucky faired a little worse ranking in at 35th.

Yet, Bill Stanczykiewicz, president of the Indiana Youth Institute claims that the progressive increase of children living in poverty may be connected with other contributing factors in the report.